#Trinity St. Paul’s

[turiyatitta]

A Spiritual Journey with Paramahamsa Vishwananda

Ever since September 3rd, 2019, there has been one figure that repeatedly stands out in my memories, the guiding light that has transformed my life – Paramahamsa Sri Swami Vishwananda.The journey began at Trinity St. Paul’s in Toronto. On that fateful day, I was fortunate enough to receive darshan from him. For those unfamiliar with this term, darshan is the divine sight – a soul-touching…

[bible-hunger-games]

Oh dear...It appears some Biblical figures have been thrown into The Hunger Games.

[CLOSED] Submit names into the reaping here.

Here's a poll tournament for characters from the Bible where you can vote on who you think will survive, inspired on a whim by mostly @hellsite-hungergames. (I'm failing at not playgerizing their info post at this very moment, in fact.)

Rules and information are under the cut!

Rules and information!

The submission form is open until Saturday, February 19 begins in UCT.

You can submit more than one character, but please don't spam one character over and over.

Characters don't have to be directly from the Bible so long as they are related to it in some way. e.g. Dante from Dante's Inferno (book that influenced views about what hell, heaven, and purgatory were like but wasn't ever officiated by the church) or a well known pope.

Each poll will be open for 24 hours; the polls for each round of the hunger games will run concurrently.

I will try to match characters up so that the pairings are entertaining, but there will likely also be some randomization involved.

The Bible Hunger Games will hopefully begin on Monday, February 21.

(Disclaimer: Um. I have next to no in depth bible knowledge. I've some studying to do.)

[foreverpraying]

Georgios Klontzas: In Thee Rejoicing...

St. John Paul II's Prayer for Peace

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, who are Yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, "Peace to you," – please grant us peace.

Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice and brotherly love. Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace.

Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace. May all peoples on the earth become brothers and sisters. May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all.

Amen.

[thepermanentrainpress]

Gallery: Mitski @ Trinity-St. Paul's United Church - Toronto, ON Date: September 29, 2023 Photographed by: Chris Ho

[musicbyrikm]

Lingua Ignota, live at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church in Toronto, December 2022

[bronzecats]

National Rainbow Week of Action in Canada

In this post I have compiled all the information I could find regarding upcoming events for the Rainbow Week of Action. There are two online events, and dozens on in-person events across the country.

"Within the Rainbow Week of Action, we are pushing governments and elected officials at every level to take action for Rainbow Equality and address rising anti-2SLGBTQIA+ hate. As such, we have identified calls to action for every level of government. These calls to action can be reviewed here."

Event list below:

Events are listed in date order, provinces in general west-to-east order. I have included as much detail as possible, please reference the links at the bottom of the post. At this time, there are no events in N.W.T. and Nova Scotia. Last updated: May 14th, 9:53pm PDT. Please note that I am not officially affiliated with / an organizer of these events, I have simply compiled all the dates to share on tumblr. Original post content.

B.C. EVENTS:

15th: Fernie; Fernie Seniors Drop-In Centre, 572 3rd Avenue, 6:00PM. (Letter writing and Potluck)

17th: Vancouver; šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square - Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza, 750 Hornby St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

19th, Sunday: Abbotsford; Jubilee Park, 5:00PM. (Rally)

ALBERTA EVENTS:

15th: Lethbridge; McKillop United Church, 2329 15th Ave S, 12:00-1:00PM (letter writing)

17th, Friday: Calgary; Central Memorial Park, 1221 2 St SW, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Edmonton; Wilbert McIntyre Park, 8331 104 St NW, 6:00PM. (Rally)

SASKATCHEWAN EVENTS:

17th: Saskatoon; Vimy Memorial Park, 500 Spadina Crescent E, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Regina; Legislative Grounds, 2405 Legislative Dr, 6:30PM. (Rally)

May 18th: Saskatoon; Grovenor Park United Church, 407 Cumberland Ave S, 6:00PM. (Art event)

MANITOBA EVENTS:

16th: Carman; Paul's Place, 20 1 Ave SW, 7:00-9:00PM. (Letter writing)

19th: Winnipeg; Manitoba Legislature, 450 Broadway, 12:00PM. (Rally)

ONTARIO EVENTS:

15th: Barrie; UPlift Black, 12 Dunlop St E, 6:00-7:30PM. (Letter writing)

15th: Chatham; CK Gay Pride Association, 48 Centre St, 5:00-6:30PM. (Letter writing)

15th: Peterborough; Trinity Community Centre, 360 Reid St, 12:00-3:00PM. (Letter writing)

16th: Midland; Midland Public Library, 4:30-7:30PM. (Letter writing and pizza)

16th: Ottawa; Impact Hub, 123 Slater Street, 2:00PM. (Letter writing)

16th: Toronto; Barbara Hall Park, 519 Church St, 11:30AM. (Rally)

17th, Friday: Barrie; City Hall, 70 Collier St, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Cornwall; 167 Pitt St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

17th: Essex; St. Paul's Anglican Church, 92 St. Paul St, 6:00-8:00PM. (Letter writing and pizza)

17th: Hamilton; City Hall, 71 Main St W, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Kitchener; City Hall, 200 King St W, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: London; City Hall, 300 Dufferin Ave, 6:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Sarnia; City Hall, 255 Christina St N, 1:00PM. (Rally)

17th: Sault Ste Marie; City Hall, 99 Foster Dr, 11:30AM. (Rally)

17th: Ottawa; Confederation Park, Elgin St, 5:30PM. (Rally)

22nd: Renfrew; 161 Raglan St. South, 7:00PM. (Letter writing, fashion and makeup event, and pizza)

QUEBEC EVENTS:

May 15th: Lachute; CDC Lachute, 57, rue Harriet, 12:30PM. (Letter writing event)

NEW BRUNSWICK EVENTS:

17th: Woodstock; Citizen's Square, Chapel St, Next to the L.P. Fisher Public Library, 12:00-1:00PM. (rally)

17th: Saint John; City Hall, 15 Market Square, 12:30PM. (Rally, flag raising)

18th, Saturday: Fredericton; Legislative Grounds, 706 Queen Street, 1:00PM. (Rally)

NOVA SCOTIA EVENTS:

May 17th: Middleton; NSCC AVC RM 121, 6:30-8:30PM (letter writing and pizza)

P.E.I. EVENTS:

May 15th: Charlottetown; Peers Alliance Office, 250B Queen Street, 6:00-8:00PM. (Adult drop-in)

May 16th: Charlottetown, Peers Alliance Office, 250B Queen Street, 6:00-7:00PM.

May 17th: Charlottetown; PEI Legislative Assembly, 165 Richmond St, 12:00PM. (Rally)

YUKON EVENTS:

16th: Whitehorse; The Cache, 4230 4 Ave, 2:00-7:00PM. (Letter writing)

NUNAVUT EVENTS:

May 16th, Thursday: Iqaluit; Four Corners, 922 Niaqunngusiariaq St, 5:00PM. (Letter writing)

Reference links:

About the Rainbow Week of Action.

Website letter writing events list (does not include all events)

General events website list (does not include all events)

Instagram general events image list

Instagram letter writing / pizza party image list

[citizenscreen]

(Caption) Miss Bette Davis, a society girl of Boston, and a niece of the Reverend Paul Gordon Favour, formerly of St. Batholomew's of New York, now of Trinity Church, New Rochelle, won the John Murray Anderson scholarship in the Anderson-Milton School of the Theatre.

[thegothicera]

Conversion of St. Paul, section of the Trinity Altar of Wawel Cathedral, Polish, 1467

[sweetdreamsjeff]

Thank you Steven! Thanks so much!

Description:

Jeff Buckley | HMV Superstore | Toronto, ON, Canada | 10/27/1994

Jeff Buckley and his band made a special appearance at the HMV Superstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on October 27, 1994. They were in town for a concert that took place the following evening at Trinity Church (aka Trinity Centre/Trinity-St. Paul's); I will post some snippets of the aforementioned concert in the pinned comment. Coincidentally, as a native Torontonian, I purchased my vinyl copy of Grace at the same store, completely oblivious to the fact that Jeff had played there about a decade earlier.

I would like to give thanks to my friends Alex Haitz and Cory, who both helped enhance the audio-visual quality of this footage, which was originally even more diluted. I would especially like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Karen Pace, who not only organized this event, but gave me a copy of her VHS transfer, which she made directly from the master tape. Here is a description of the video, in her own words:

"The footage is very poorly shot, very amateur. Our regular videographer was not working that shift, so it fell to one of the floor employees to hold the camera, which she did not do very well. It's very shaky. But it exists.

As far as I know, no one owns the original copy that would have been in the DJ booth at 333 Yonge St. after I left there in 1997. When the store closed, I bet you can investigate for decades and never find out what happened to the stuff that was in the DJ booth! I made a copy for myself right after the in-store, as I was the host for it that afternoon. The in-store happened because I asked for it from the label rep, and Jeff did it as a favour to me, because I had met him in New York City at CB's Gallery in December 1993, and again at his first 2 Toronto shows at Ultrasound and C'est What. He was a mutual friend of my New York singer friend Peter Stuart, who would go on to form the band Dog's Eye View. Jeff told me that he never did in-store performances, that he hated to do them, but he acquiesced and did it as a favour to me when I asked for it through the label rep. I will be forever grateful that we got that small performance at HMV.

The set was just over 30 minutes long, maybe 40 minutes, if I remember correctly. However, the store employee who videotaped it only put in a 30-minute tape into the video recorder, so the performance cuts off after 30 minutes and no one on the planet has the rest of the show on any footage anywhere. I know that for a fact. Cell phones with cameras didn't exist then for audience members to shoot it!

As for the original tape of his HMV set: the usual camera person was indeed Derek Conant, but he wasn’t working the day of Jeff’s in-store. So a floor person, who usually helped customers or handled cash, held the camera. The camera is not steady, the shots are blurry then come into focus. She had no experience and did us a favour by holding the camera while I did the interview. Derek was my cameraman for the next 3 years, as well as the marketing manager, Sara Kupusa, once in a while at the beginning, then Christopher Mills was hired to do all video editing and interview and live shooting as he was a film student at Ryerson. But on Jeff’s in-store day, we were still in the very beginning stages of having in-stores and video-taping them with an interview, to be able to edit them together to play in the store as a reel. She (the videographer) only put in a 30-minute tape into the video camera. So silly! None of us even double-checked to make sure it was a longer tape! It was a VHS camera. It taped right onto a VHS tape.

After the in-store, I copied the original VHS tape onto a used VHS tape from home that was 45 minutes long, so in the middle of that song, it cuts out to whatever else was on my personal VHS tape (a news reel for something), then goes blank. So we only have 30 minutes of that set. The set lasted about 40 minutes, if I recall. I don’t have a set list for it to know what songs came after that. Maybe some fans who were there wrote that down?

I have no idea what would have happened to all the stock at HMV, nor all the in-store video tapes that would have been in the DJ booth when it closed down. I assume they were all carted off to the dump. There is no head office that they would have been shipped to, and I assume everyone was given their walking papers without being able to take anything from the store. That’s how it usually works. The doors are locked and everything in the store is thrown out."

With that said, if anyone watching this video, and reading this description, has the master tape, or knows who might have it ― assuming that it even still exists (as Karen implied, it likely doesn't) ― please get in touch with me, as I would like to have it digitized for posterity. I should also note that the poor sound is due to this video being in mono. My friend, Cory, surmised that the master tape might have stereo sound, though.

[hiidkwhatimdoing7525]

September 9-14, 1824

Lafayette was in Manhattan

he was in Manhattan the whole time why not just do it in one post?

the evening of September 8th he went to park theater. They had a reenactment of the battle of Yorktown there for him. In fact, Lafayette visited this place 4 times during his tour!

September 9th, he visited St. Paul’s chapel and city hall park

September 10th, he visited Free School number 3 and African Free School During his tour, he will be at schools a lot. Just saying, if Lafayette was watching me write an essay. HOW CAN I CONCENTRATE ON THE EASSAY???! adopt me Lafayette. He also visited the home of Nicholas Fish, another Amrev veteran.

September 11th, Lafayette attended a performance at the Chatham Garden Theatre.

September 12th, he visited trinity church, he accompanied Eliza Hamilton to visit Hamilton and Philip’s graves.

September 14th, they had a WHOLE DAMN FESTIVAL for him in castle garden. About 5000 people attended. They also made it look like his house in France a lot (la grange) which a onlooker recalled “[Lafayette] exclaimed, ‘Oh, ma maison! La Grange! La Grange!’

(Oh! My house! La Grange! La Grange!)

which WHY WAS IT SO ADORABLE??? He sound like an excited child ahhhhhh 🥹

[isabellehemlock]

Cross posting my contribution to the IWTV Tarot mini project from Twitter.

Image descriptions and all the symbolism behind Louis' can be found under the cut:

Image descriptions:

1. Lestat's card features him in his Mardi Gras costume, looking on cheerfully as he rides the float through New Orleans. It has been transformed into a chariot to represent the card (the font at the bottom reading "The Chariot" and "@ isabellehemlock") and he is bathed in shadows and light to represent the evening. The border flanked around him is the fleur de lis symbol for his heritage and a cord overlay for the "there is a cord between us" canon nod.

2. Louis' card is him reclining on a chair/throne wearing traditional altar boy garb, poised in front of his church from childhood. He is holding his cane in one hand, and his other is up turned in a to bless pose - but the tips drip with blood. His border includes heavy red drapes that reveal stained glass windows. The font at the bottom reads "The Hierophant" and "@ isabellehemlock".

Religious Symbolism:

1. Red is for both the Passion of Christ, but also for Martyrs - many martyrs end up becoming Saints of the Church, so tie in with the whole St. Louis label

2. In the first episode, Grace mentions that Louis and Paul were altar boys together (at her wedding reception), so I clothed him in the traditional altar boy garb (which is sometimes white and black, but some do red, too) - circling back to point number one ;)

3. The Hierophant page says (in part) this about the card composition:

"The Hierophant is a religious figure sitting between two pillars of a sacred temple – though this temple differs from the one in which the High Priestess sits. [ ... ] In his left hand, he holds the Papal Cross, a triple sceptre that signifies his religious status. He raises his right hand in a religious blessing, with two fingers pointing towards Heaven and two towards Earth."

- so I used Louis' church as the backdrop for the Sacred Temple. The place where his faith says he receives a taste of Heaven at every mass <3. The hand position is still used today offer blessings - a benediction - and though it looks like two fingers pointing up, it actually is supposed to include the thumb as well to represent the Holy Trinity. But also, priests receive a special blessing at their ordination over those two fingers that hold the Eucharist - so yeah lots of symbolism when it comes to that hand position BUT ALSOPLUSALSO the blood . . .

4. The blood as the life force, but also the Blood of Christ - the Sacrament he was raised to believe is given at every mass. And yet it is the Apostle St. Thomas - doubting Thomas who is also told to stick his fingers in Christ's wounds - bloody fingers for the doubting disciple.

5. Even though the card description mentions the Papal Cross - I replaced it with Louis' cane to equally represent his own personal "stick of power" if you will

6. I didn't go with a religious crown, and instead focused on bathing him with a crown of light to represent the light of faith - but it's draped around him, encompassing and connecting him to the building that surrounds him - but he is immune to it personally - a little nod to the conflicting feelings around the traditions of his faith (while still not being totally segregated from it).

[aultsville]

Kristin Hayter performing as Lingua Ignota at Trinity-St. Paul's United Church, Toronto, December 19th 2022

Shot with Psychedelic Blues #4 film

[foreverpraying]

Source of picture: https://la-inmaculada.tumblr.com

Passion of Christ Sculpture, Marseille, France by Duncan McKay on GettyImages

"From Mary we learn to surrender to God's will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone." St. John Paul II.

[churchblogmatics-blog]

Books for spiritual formation

Books that have left an indelible mark on my understanding of God or the Christian faith in some way. My spiritual development is unfinished, so this list is unfinished - I'm always open to suggestions

Soren Kierkegaard

The Sickness Unto Death - Explained how sin works psychologically, illustrates how it can be its own punishment

Works of Love - What it means to love, what it costs, what it gives us

Fear and Trembling - What faith means, its miraculous nature

Karl Barth

Evangelical Theology - What theology actually means, how the gospel is good news

The Epistle to the Romans - Shows the need for continual reformation of thought within the church, introduced (to me) the idea of God's freedom in communication to man

Church Dogmatics II.2 - Election is good news! It is God willing to choose humanity despite sin - universal reconciliation can and should be hoped for

The Journal of John Woolman

What undying commitment to justice means, what it looks like

Martin Luther King Jr

Letter from a Birmingham Jail - Made me understand how Romans 13:1 can be integrated into radical politics

A Gift of Love - Brought to life 1 John 4:20

A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving

A narrative illustration of unwavering faith

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas Kempis

What we're saved to, salvation has a telos

Flannery O'Connor

Wise Blood - Life without Christ, the perils of sola scriptura

A Good Man is Hard to Find - Shows grace as an intrusive lived experience

Marilynne Robinson

Gilead novels (Gilead, Home, Lila) - Rich illustration of Imago Dei

When I Was a Child I Read Books - Bolstered my understanding of the 8th commandment (reading with charitable intent, in interactions with others in life and on the page)

What Are We Doing Here? - Illustrates what the glory of God means in daily experience

Garry Wills

What Paul Meant - Paul and Jesus were of a unified mind, stop reading Paul as a bible thumper, start reading him as a man who loved dearly and wrote with urgency on live issues

Religio Medici, Thomas Browne

Ecumenism is a beautiful thing and should be strived for in all Christian communities

The Seven Storey Mountain, Thomas Merton

The gospel brings peace of mind and soul, searching for peace is a valid epistemology

Eichmann in Jerusalem, Hannah Arendt

Wickedness is not inevitable, it arises from moral and intellectual sluggardliness

The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Learn to love the church, it is the arms of Christ; great exegesis of the Sermon on the Mount; great companion to the book of James

White Evangelical Racism, Anthea Butler

Evangelicalism did not emerge from theological first principles, it is a diseased expression of the faith informed by racism at the root

Jesus and John Wayne, Kristin Kobes du Mez

Evangelicalism did not emerge from theological first principles, it is a diseased expression of the faith informed by misogyny at the root

C.S. Lewis

The Great Divorce - Eternity begins now, sin is its own punishment and grace is its own reward

Till We Have Faces - God has compassion and patience for those who wrestle with him, to summon the boldness to contend with God can be a blessed thing

The Courage to Be, Paul Tillich

The dynamics of Christian faith explained in the abstract

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner

The thinness of intellectual assent, the richness of faith

The Denial of Death, Ernest Becker

Explanation of the existential need faith meets in the language of continental philosophy

Confessions, St. Augustine

The most theologically and philosophically rich testimony besides that of St. Paul

An Unpublished Essay on the Trinity, Jonathan Edwards

What is the trinity, why is it important

John Milton

Areopagitica - Enforced virtue means nothing

Paradise Lost - Human beings are worth saving even if they aren't deserving of God's favor

Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud

Illustrates the necessity of grace by exploring a world through the assumption of its absence (excellent foil to A Gift of Love)

[musicbyrikm]

dreamSTATE, live at Trinity St Paul's Centre in Toronto, May 2024

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by A Pile of Concert Tickets (@apileofconcerttickets)

[momentsbeforemass]

Pray for them

(by request, my homily from Sunday)

You and I were never meant to do this alone.

That’s what the end of today’s Gospel – the “where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them” – is all about.

We are supposed to come together. We are supposed to do this together. That’s how God made us. 

The point of us coming together? As Jesus tells us, it’s to pray.

There’s nothing wrong with praying for ourselves. Whether it’s our hopes, our dreams. What we know we need, what we’re afraid of. The things we don’t want to admit, even to ourselves. All of it.

Take it all to God in prayer. But don’t stop there.

You can give someone the support that they need. You can give someone the strength they need. You have the ability to change their life. And it starts when you pray for them.

This is central to our life of faith, that’s why it’s one of the Four Pillars from our Diocesan Synod, and it’s something that you and I are told to do over and over in the Bible.

St. James tells us to “pray for one another,…for the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” (James 5:16). Your intentions for this Mass? That’s a great place to start. But this isn’t just a Sunday thing, or even a when-I-go-to-Mass thing. This is an everyday thing.

Take time every day to pray for others.

Look around you, look at the people in your life, and look at the people who cross your path. Your relative who just got the diagnosis? Your friend whose marriage is in trouble? That neighbor who’s struggling? Someone you barely know who’s headed in the wrong direction? Someone you heard about who lost their job?

That’s who God is calling you to pray for. That’s why God sent them your way.

After the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, what’s the most powerful prayer in the Gospels?

I’ll give you a hint – we say a version of it at every Mass.

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

That’s a paraphrase of the most powerful prayer in the Gospels that’s not said by the Second Person of the Trinity. Here’s St. Matthew’s account:

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion said in reply, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.”…And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour [his] servant was healed. (Matthew 8:5-8,10,13).

This is what St. James is talking about, when he tells us that “the fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” If you want to see God in action, pray for others.

And this is why St. Paul tells us to, “bear one another’s burdens, for in so doing you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2). Paul knows, from his own experience, that you and I need to be praying for others. Why?

Because Paul spent a big part of his life as a self-righteous accuser, and he understands human nature all too well.

And you’re thinking, “I’m not getting paid to persecute people.” I know. I’ve seen your social media. You and me? We are way too comfortable with doing it for free.

Because if you and I aren’t kneeling in prayer for someone, the odds are we’re standing in judgment over them.

It all goes back to our human nature. If you’re praying for someone…

Let’s be clear, I don’t mean the “thoughts-and-prayers” throw-away line that you hear after a tragedy or a natural disaster.

If you’re praying for someone, if you’re really praying for someone? If you’re lifting them up in prayer whenever they come to mind? If you’re taking their needs before the very throne? If you’re bringing them with you to Mass in your intentions?

That will change how you see them. You will start to see them through God’s eyes. And you cannot see someone through God’s eyes without loving them.

When you do, not only will you start to see God at work in their lives. You’ll see the opportunities that God has given you to help them.

To give them a ride to that doctor’s appointment so they don’t miss it again. To help them figure out a confusing website – so they can apply for that grant or scholarship. To watch their kids so they can go to that job interview.

Or to just listen to them and be with them.

And no matter what you do, let them know that you’re praying for them.

Not because you want them to think you’re wonderful. Not because you want them to thank you. Not because you want anything from them.

But because they need to know that you’re there for them. They need to know that you are on their side.

Because you and I were never meant to do this alone.

Sunday’s Readings